In recent weeks, people have been sharing at least three videos purporting to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky either using cocaine or making incoherent remarks after allegedly consuming drugs. But these videos have been cut misleadingly and sometimes even digitally manipulated.
Two viral videos purported to show that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses cocaine. One video appeared to show cocaine on Zelenskyy's desk as he spoke, while the other appeared to show him saying that he uses the drug routinely.
The first video was doctored; in the original, there is no white substance on Zelenskyy's desk. The second video was deceptively edited; in the original, he denied using drugs.
Our ruling
Two videos claimed to show Zelenskyy either using or admitting to using cocaine.
The first video purports to show a white powder on Zelenskyy's desk as he placed a video call to Musk. But the video was doctored to include the substance, which is not in the original.
The second video appears to show Zelenskyy talking about using cocaine regularly, but the video was deceptively edited to reorder Zelenskyy's words. In reality, Zelenskyy denied using drugs.
We rate these videos Pants on Fire!
A video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in social media posts that claim it is a report from the BBC that states Ukraine was responsible for a deadly missile attack on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. The British broadcaster's press team said it did not produce the "fake" video and was "taking action" to get it removed from social media. AFP identified various visual features in the video that indicated it has been fabricated to imitate a report from the BBC.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not responsible for the nationalization of the Russian centralized bank, which took place in 1917.
• The Rothschild family banking business has had an office in Russia since the 1990s, but it has no oversight over the country's currency or monetary policies, which are controlled by the Bank of Russia.
• The Rothschild family long has been the target of conspiracy theories, and their wealth is believed to be responsible for inspiring the anti-Semitic trope that Jewish people "control" the world's money.
Our ruling
A Facebook post says Putin "ended the Rothschild's control over Russia by nationalizing the Russian centralized bank."
Putin did not nationalize the Russian centralized bank; that occurred in 1917.
Evidence does not support the claim that the Rothschild family had control over Russia. The family's banking business has had an office in Russia since the 1990s ' though it recently suspended operations ' but it has no oversight over the country's currency or monetary policies, which are controlled by the Bank of Russia.
We rate this claim False.
An image of Russians forming the number 55 to celebrate the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin rocketing into space has been mischaracterized to wrongly claim that it shows Ukrainian students celebrating Hitler's birthday.
Anyone confusing this shape for a swastika is mistaken. While the the numbers are made with straight lines like a swastika ' lacking the curve that's often used to write the number five ' the angles are off. The two ends of both fives point in the same direction, whereas each end of a swastika points in a different direction.
But what's more, this photo wasn't taken in Lviv in 2022. It was shot in Penza, Russia, in 2016, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Cosmonautics Day.
The "55" can be seen at the 47 mark, and it's followed by an image of Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet pilot who became the first person to orbit the earth on April 12, 1961.
We rate this post Pants on Fire!
The Kremlin continues to insulate the Russian population from the outside world in terms of access to reliable information, including an increasingly threatening stance towards Wikipedia. Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that Wikipedia had become the source of "a new line of constant attacks on Russians" and that its articles promoted "an exclusively anti-Russian interpretation of events". The future of Wikipedia in Russia is up in the air, but as of yet, the online encyclopaedia still remains accessible.
As Russian strikes pounded the besieged port city of Mariupol in Ukraine, Facebook posts shared in various languages claimed US General Roger L. Cloutier was captured by Russian forces there. However, NATO said the rumour was "completely false" and that Cloutier, who leads NATO's Allied Land Command, had not been to Ukraine since July 2021. Cloutier was in Turkey when the false claims about his whereabouts circulated online.
A report by the Digital Forensics Research Lab (DFRLab) has accused Yandex of succumbing to Russia's domestic regulations by suppressing Ukraine war information for its users in Russia.
Olena Kurilo, a teacher, was injured on Feb. 24, 2022, when a Russian missile strike hit her apartment complex in Chuhuiv, Ukraine.
Her photograph was taken by at least three journalists that day and she was interviewed on video.
Photos in news reports that day show the apartment complex is not the building damaged by a 2018 gas explosion in Russia.
Our ruling
A social media user claims a photo of a Ukrainian woman that went viral after her apartment building was attacked on the first day of Russia's invasion is actually from a 2018 gas explosion in Russia.
At least three photojournalists took photos of the woman on Feb. 24 and she was interviewed on camera. Multiple news reports confirmed the attack on the apartment building that day, and images show the building is not the same one damaged in the Russia gas explosion. We rate this claim False.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of a massacre in Bucha but Kremlin-backed media are denouncing it as a hoax. DW checked both claims and found enough evidence to prove the Russian side wrong.
